The Prowers County Commissioners on Monday voted unanimously to become a Second Amendment Sanctuary County.

The move follows Fremont, Custer and Weld counties, which passed similar resolutions that condemn the extreme risk protection order, otherwise known as the “red flag” bill. The resolution excuses local sheriffs and law enforcement from carrying out the law.

“We are elected officials when we raise our hand to take office,” Prowers County Commissioner Wendy L. Buxton-Andrade said in a statement to the Lamar Ledger. “We are sworn to protect the United States Constitution. In passing this resolution, we are protecting that right and protecting our constituents from those trying to take away that constitutional right, the Second Amendment.”

The Fremont County Commissioners in Cañon City were the first to pass such a resolution after concerns grew about the bill, which hasn’t had a hearing in the Senate yet.

According to the Denver Post, Republicans blocked a similar bill during the 2018 session, when they had a Senate majority, but Democrats gained control in November’s midterm election.

“I think we’re trying to make a statement to the lawmakers in Denver who are acting on their own agenda and not listening to the rest of the state,” Fremont County Commissioner Dwayne McFall said to the Denver Post. “We’re not sworn to uphold an unconstitutional law.”

Rep. Dave Williams, a Colorado Springs Republican, said the problem he and other Republicans have with House Bill 1177 is the way it goes about taking guns from people suspected of being in the midst of a mental health crisis. The bill would direct judges to apply a legal standard known as the “preponderance of evidence,” which Williams thinks is far too low for a constitutional right like the Second Amendment. And once weapons are confiscated, it puts the burden of proof on the owner to prove that they should be returned.

“I feel strongly about this being a violation of the Constitution,” Williams said. “It gives sheriffs the needed support to essentially ignore these laws”

McFall told the Denver Post he has talked to officials in 10 other Colorado counties who are interested in becoming Second Amendment sanctuaries

Advocacy groups that support the bill, such as Mental Health Colorado and Violence Free Colorado, are apprehensive about the possibility of county sheriffs across Colorado choosing not to enforce these orders, saying it could endanger people in domestic violence situations and those who are suicidal.

“More than half of all suicides in Colorado involve a firearm,” Mental Health Colorado said in a statement. “We believe everyone should have access to this life-saving protection order no matter where you live. Saving lives should not be a partisan issue.”

But officials in Lamar said the decision to pass the resolution was simple when it threatens residents’ Second Amendment rights.

“This resolution is protecting our county from those wanting to come into our county to take that right away,” Buxton-Andrade said.